Chris Lombardi puts defense and security under the spotlight, as he shares his takes on recent NATO and EU cooperation and provides insight into the company’s own long-term strategic partnerships in Europe.

Three trends are currently driving the global electricity sector: decarbonization, decentralization and differentiation. Utilities are making significant contributions to mitigate carbon emissions, while a technology revolution is …

Switzerland keeps doors open to EU workers

Early results from Switzerland indicate that the Swiss have voted strongly in favour of continuing to allow EU workers the right to search for Swiss jobs without restriction and to grant the same rights to the EU’s most recent members, Bulgarians and Romanians.

The referendum victory – by a margin currently projected to be between 2% and 18% – also averts the possibility that Switzerland would have had to re-negotiate its entire relationship, since a ‘No’ vote would automatically have annulled a package of bilateral treaties agreed since 1992.

A ‘No’ vote would probably have resulted in the re-introduction of travel and labour-market access restrictions on EU workers and on Swiss working in the EU.

The campaign against the extension of Switzerland’s freedom-of-movement agreement with the EU was driven not by concerns about the impact of the existing movement, which has been smaller than nationalists – led by the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) – had predicted.

Instead, campaigners for a ‘No’ vote were primarily concerned about the inclusion of Bulgarians and Romanians, arguing that the arrival of migrants from the EU’s youngest members would put Swiss jobs at risk and drive up crime rates. Reflecting those fears, some of the advertising in the campaign was highly emotive, with images, for example, of crows pecking and tearing at Switzerland.

The vote will come as a relief to most Swiss leaders, as, with the notable exception of the popular and populist SVP, politicians at cantonal and federal level backed its extension, as did business leaders and most trade unionists.

The result may also come as a relief to some in the SVP’s leadership. Its central committee originally decided not to support the call for a referendum, but threw its weight behind the initiative under pressure from its rank and file.

The initial reluctance of SVP leaders reflected concern about the effect on the bilateral arrangements that Switzerland has developed with the EU since it voted, in 1992, not to join the European Economic Area. The series of bilateral agreements reached since then have enabled Switzerland to tighten relations with the EU on its own terms.

The European Commission warned before the vote that Switzerland’s membership of the 25-member border-free Schengen area would have been jeopardised by a ‘No’ vote.